Somerville

Lest it be forgotten in our virus-obsessed state, April in Fair Housing Month. I have been on the Fair Housing Commission in Somerville for seven years. This year, our events were cancelled. There are two things that need to be said: Fair Housing and affordable housing are interrelated in our communities. That is why I

A tried and true Somerville, MA political move is to publish something damning on the weekend before the election, so that the target of the slander doesn’t have time to get a rebuttal out. It’s tried and true, and it was tried again this year. But.It.Didn’t.Work. The current City Council was reelected in its entirety.

The Boston Globe published an article about the possibility of a slow-down in local real estate. “... houses are taking longer to sell, and when they do, they’re more likely to sell below listing price than they did a year ago. Also, the number of homes on the market, particularly condominiums, is up. The market

From a buyer’s perspective, the Somerville Condo Ordinance changes are a win. For renters, it is a major victory. I discussed these changes in last week’s blog post. The ink wasn’t dry on the Ordinance when the backlash began. Owners in Somerville received calls and letters urging them to sell now, before the new ordinance

Two-family house Condos for sale Everyone knows what condo conversion is, right? It’s when an owner changes a multi-unit building from a one-owner property to condominiums deeded by multiple owners. Typically, this would be taking an apartment building and selling off each unit, separately, as condos. In Somerville -- the land

When I read that the AirBnB ordinance passed in Somerville, my first thought was that the devil would be in the details. Wicked Local/Somerville Journal was first to me with the information. They linked to a summary of the ordinance, so you can read it for yourself. The ordinance is aimed at two goals: Deter

Affordable housing is the issue in this year’s Somerville municipal election. Please vote on November 7 for candidates you think we can work with to make headway on housing. Know what your candidate intends to do about it. Every Alderman and the Mayor must be held accountable in 2018 to make affordable housing a possibility

Boston and Somerville have both sent home rule petitions to the State Legislature that have been written to assist tenants in properties that are being sold for development. Boston’s involves increasing the amount of notice that tenants get, if their leases are not going to be renewed. It requires landlord sellers to report their sales,